Confronting Suicide: Workshop Participant Produces Radio Series

Earlier this month, Arizona Public Media's NPR 89.1 FM launched a four-part series exploring suicide prevention efforts for teenagers, college students and elderly Americans. “Confronting Suicide” focuses on the stories of three people who lost loved ones to suicide, and their struggles to cope with their grief.

The series was written and produced by Fernanda Echavarri, Andrea Kelly and Gisela Telis. Kelly attended the 2012 Dart Center workshop “Covering Suicide,” made possible by grants from the Thomas Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health and the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. 

Listen to all four radio pieces below:

  • Part 1 - Teen Suicides: Dozens of teenagers with suicidal thoughts and behaviors visit emergency rooms and crisis centers every week in Tucson, Arizona. Fernanda Echavarri explores the brain of teenagers and the high rate of suicide among LGBT teens.
  • Part 2 - Prevention Top Focus for Colleges: Suicide is the second highest cause of death among college students, behind motor vehicle crashes. Andrea Kelly explores the University of Arizona's (UA) suicide prevention efforts and reports on the prevention work of a national organization that started because of a UA student's death in 1998.
  • Part 3 - Suicide Among Elderly: Suicide among the elderly rarely makes headlines, yet older adults have the nation's highest suicide rates. Gisela Telis talks with experts, including a counselor who lost her grandfather to suicide, about the medical and cultural reasons behind this often ignored phenomenon and explores what local agencies are trying to do about it. 
  • Part 4 - Reporters’ Notebook: Echavarri, Kelly and Telis discuss their findings in researching suicide prevention efforts and creating this series.

Click here for resources from the two-day “Covering Suicide” workshop, including daily recaps, full event videos, and tip sheets on best reporting practices.

 

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